useless fingers. But suddenly the little fingers began to stir. The tiny
fairies who were hidden away there were not used to remaining still, and
they were getting restless. They stirred so that Elsa jumped up and ran
to the cooking table, and took hold of the bread board. No sooner had
she touched the bread board than the little fairies began to work: they
measured the flour, mixed the bread, kneaded the loaves, and set them to
rise, quicker than you could wink; and when the bread was done, it was
as nice as you could wish. Then the little fairy-fingers seized the
broom, and in a twinkling they were making the house clean. And so it
went, all day. Elsa flew about from one thing to another, and the ten
fairies did the work, just right.

When the maid saw her mistress working, she began to work, too; and when
she saw how beautifully everything was done, she was ashamed to do
anything badly herself. In a little while the housework was going
smoothly, and Elsa could laugh and sing again.

There was no more crossness in that house. Elsa's husband grew so proud
of her that he went about saying to everybody, "My grandmother was a
fine housekeeper, and my mother was a fine housekeeper, but neither of
them could hold a candle to my wife. She has only one maid, but, to see
the work done, you would think she had as many servants as she has
fingers on her hands!"

When Elsa heard that, she used to laugh, but she never, never told.

FOOTNOTES:

[22] Adapted from the facts given in the German of _Die Zehn Feen_ in
_Märchen und Erzählungen_, Zweiter Teil, by H.A. Guerber.